Transition To Remote Learning

As the days go by, I find my motivation declining. Things just aren't the same. The more I sit in one place, the more idle I become. If this restlessness continues, it will not end well.

This weekend I took it upon myself to end this madness by digging deep into the problem. One question after another:

1. Am I just being lazy?
2. Is remote learning for me?
3. Why is the switch to online learning so difficult?

The answers weren't easy to find so I decided to compare the pros and cons of remote learning.

Pros

• Sleeping in
  As a person who would wake up at 500am just to be on the road early enough to avoid downtown rush hour traffic, I am happy about not having to commute or wake up as early. 630am - 700am works just fine.

• Savings on gas
  Have you seen the gas prices?

• Savings on parking garage
  This monthly bill can be eliminated all together, who doesn't like having less bills?

• No more cold buildings
  Usually all of the buildings I go to have the A/C set to a temperature that makes me very uncomfortable. It's good to be home where I can control how cold or hot I want to be.

• Getting out of my comfort zone
  I have never had to attend classes remotely, but this gives me a chance to grow. I'm learning how to do something I am obviously not comfortable doing all while learn something new about myself.

Cons

• Decrease in inspiration
  I joined the Flatiron Data Science Bootcamp to be surrounded by like minded people who I can bounce ideas off of and learn with. I also wanted to be able to talk to my instructor and coat as much as possible. Although the access to my instructor and coach have not changed, the access to being around my cohort has. Video chat is not the same as being next to someone.

• The energy of the environment
  The energy on campus was productive and determined vs the energy at home which is relaxing and distracting. I am not use to working remote so this is a culture shock for me.

• Decrease in in-person networking opportunities
  While having access to the Wework building we were able to connect with different companies on different floors. Now we are restricted to our homes (especially with the spreading of COVID 19).

Solution

Remote learning/working is a new experience for me, but I am willing to work at it by incorporating the following:

• To increase my inspiration I will begin reaching out to my cohort for study sessions via video chat. I will also ask my instructor and coach to join me in a study session via video chat. This way can I trick my brain into feeling as though I am in a class room.

• To address the energy in my environment, I will change locations until I find a spot that I feel productive in (sitting and staying at a desk in my house was surprisingly harder than I thought, so the search continues)

• For the sake of my sanity and my bootcamp experience I deleted all social media, I didn't want that distraction. Now that I am entering the professional world I will use sites like Linkedin, Kaggle, Dev.to etc... to network on a more professional level.

This is not something that is going to change overnight, but it is a process I am ready to begin. Wish me luck and feel free to comment any advice you have on how to make this remote transition as smooth as possible.